Cupcakes & Skulls Essie Spring 2014 & Sugar Bubbles Nail Art

Hey lacquer ladies,

It's spring -  woot finally! Despite the snow and cold weather I'm in the mood to celebrate. The felicitations include things like cupcakes, cold Blue Moons laced with orange wedges, and seafood. Does anyone else fantasize about food when the weather changes? Lol I feel like a freak, but I do it every season. At any rate today I have some springy nail art for everyone.  I chose to break out my severely underused Sugar Bubbles plates and two new polishes from Essie's Spring 2014 Collection, and created something slightly different from things I've done in the past.  I hope you like it!

Mani-louge

Basecoat / Topcoat: CND Stickey & Poshe Fast Drying Topcoat

Base Colors: Essie Fashion Playground and Romper Room

Stamping polish: Konad Special Polish in Red, Mundo de Unas, Sally Hansen Instadri in Fast Fuschia and Jade Jump

Stamping Plates: Sugar Bubbles SB009, SB011, and SB013

Accents: Pueen Cosmetics Neon 2mm studs

Fashion Playground is a pale mint green crelly finish polish.  I was surprised to find a crelly hiding out in this collection since Essie hasn't released any in quite a while.  I was able to build it up to opacity in 2 careful coats.  Romper Room is a pale pink creme polish.  I own a lot of Essie pink polishes.  The formula on this one is the similar to all the rest flawless and self leveling.  Opaque in 2 thin coats.  I also used this polish as the color for the frosting on the cupcake.  I had mixed feelings about this pink in terms of it washing my skin tone out a bit, but what do you think?  I also had cracks develop in the frosting.  I'm not sure why that happened but I sort of like the effect...

My Sugar Bubbles plates are going to start getting more of a workout these days!  The quality as I have found in the past is excellent.  The images came out so crisp with effortless transfer.  I will say one problem with being a plate addict is never having enough time to use all the plates I own.  If I had to guesstimate these days I'd say my collection is around 800+ plates (just a bit insane) lol!  In any case I hope you enjoyed this sweet spring mani!  Thanks so much for reading and see you next post...

Paisley & Lace Loja BBF Nail Art

Hey lacqueristas,

Happy hump day such as it is...I know we are all looking forward to the weekend especially if it brings some much needed warmth along with it!  What's crazy is that even though it snowed here the sunlight today was spectacular.  So awesome in fact that I decided to break out a holo and celebrate the sun along with my Loja BBF plates.  Remember you can read about my review of the Loja BBF plates here. 

You should already know from following me that there is no such thing as too much holo in my world.  I will say I've become more selective when buying simply because of the large abundance out there these days, but I still really love a great holo.  Today I decided to use Fancy Gloss Sparkling Rose.  This was a limited edition polish that released 2 weeks ago.  Its inspiration I guess is supposed to be Rose wine, however I didn't get the same blush I'm used to seeing in the wine.  Instead I got a very copper leaning color that blew me away!  The best part about this polish is it's practically a one coater.  Drying time on this beauty was also maybe 4 minutes total with topcoat!

Mani-louge

Basecoat/Topcoat: CND Stickey / Sally Hansen Diamond Flash

Base color: Fancy Gloss Sparkling Rose (LE)

Stamping polish: Mentality Polish Temperance

Stamping plate: Loja BBF 18

Studs: Daily Charme

I also decided to break out my one and only Mentality polish called Temperance - this is a deep plummy red matte polish.  It actually stamped very opaque, matte, which I found fascinating, and transformed over Sparkling Rose to a deep brown color.  I am so impressed by this polish that I have a feeling I will be ordering a few more Mentality polishes soon.  I'm just waiting for her to release her version of the Leadlight polishes before ordering :)

So what do you think?  This is really not a very spring inspired mani, but when it's 20 degrees outside it's a bit hard to get there.  I am looking forward to some warm weather soon and I do have some spring nail art coming so don't fret, but sometimes it's nice to mix it up too!  You can find Fancy Gloss polishes here.  Loja BBF plates can be ordered via Cris on Facebook, and Mentality Polish can be found here.  Thanks so much for reading and see you next post!

Elevation Polish Summit Collection #1 Nail Art

Hey lacquer ladies,

Press Sample
 
It's time to gush over another Elevation Polish collection for the month of March!  Honestly the best part of my months are related to the awesomeness that is Elevation Polish, and the Summit Collection #1 is no exception.  I am presuming of course the reason that this is the 1st collection is that there will be so many more delicious summits to drool over lol.  This time around I feel like I really went crazy with the nail art so I hope you like it.  And without further ado let's get started!

Vinson

Lulu has been rolling out more holographics this season.  I don't know if she's following trends, though I suspect more likely she's following her heart, but I love them! A while ago when she had her charity auction there were two whole sets of light and dark holos. Though I bid my little heart out I wasn't able to secure either so it makes me happy to see Lulu producing a few here and there.

Vinson is a pale pale lavender leaning strong linear holographic/foil finish polish.  The formula on this one for some reason was not working for me. I kept getting streaks until I thinned it out a tiny bit and then it corrected for me.  If you are more patient than I streaks can be avoided by allowing 3-5 minutes of dry time between each coat.  As I said it's strong...and gorgeous.  So gorgeous I decided to bring back my floral motif stamping.  However this time instead of double stamping I used the decal method and filled the flowers in with various EP shades listed below.

Mani-louge

Base: Elevation Polish Vinson

Accent colors: Elevation Polish El Cap II &Tronador

Stamping polish: Elevation Polish Tronador

Stamping plate: Winstonia W04

Kilimanjaro

The namesake of this polish is a crazy huge mountain in a crazy cool continent so why on earth would the polish be any different? It's not! In fact it's my idea of burnished heaven.  Wait burnished copper glitter heaven! Lulu is legitimately one of the few indies that keeps me coming back for her glitter bombs as her eye for color and texture is excellent. I decided to pair Kilimanjaro with the deep brown jelly EP Tettegouche and create a jelly sandwich.  Because I wanted to keep to the tribal nature that Kilimanjaro inspired I broke out another MoYou London Explorer plate and more EPs paired with Puncak Jaya.

Mani-louge

Bases: Tettegouche, Puncak Jaya, and Kilimanjaro

Accent colors: Streetside NYC, Torres del Paine, Matsuda, I Got the Axe, and Sarychev

Stamping polish: Mundo de Unas #

Stamping plate: MoYou London Explorer 10 

 

Puncak Jaya


A pastel blue creme polish packed with blue fleck glitter.  This polish is basically a one coater.  Probably of the entire Summit Collection this is the most flexible polish, i.e. you could do anything with this and it will look fabulous.  For some reason I ended up getting slightly Santa Fe with the nail art I did for this one.  Lol.  It worked too well as I didn't want to take it off when I finished.  Honestly I felt this way about every mani I did this time.

Mani-louge

Base Colors: Puncak Jaya & Sarychev

Accent colors: Elevation Polish Sarychev + Cerro Torre 2

Stamping polish: Mundo de Unas

Stamping plate: MoYou London Explorer 14

I created these nested triangles before using EP polishes for the Fan Collection contest.  The thing about EPs is they make it extraordinarily easy to mix and match the colors together.  The accent nail was made by using Puncak Junga to fill in the stamping image and I used a cheap dollar store stripper in blue for the outlines of the triangle.

Aconcagua

Lord a mouthful and lord a utterly beautiful holographic polish!  This is The Arches in holographic form.  Do you all recall how much I love The Arches? As much as I love its counterpart The Arches II which is a bit more brick red leaning. Aconcagua has a tendency to lean orange especially if you hit direct sunlight as you'll see below.  This kind of color is so flattering on my skin tone, and will be perfect for anyone sporting a golden kiss from the summer sun (golden kiss protected of course by a slathering of sunblock.) What? I have to preach what I practice!?!

Mani-louge

Base color: Aconcagua

Accent colors: Elevation Polish I Got The Axe, Matsuda, & Streetside NYC

Stamping polish: Mundo de Unas

Stamping plate: Messy Mansion MM12

Tribal fire here!

Orange leaning in the direct sunlight as I said earlier.  Heavily linear.



Another strong linear holographic.  The formula is thin (which is how I prefer my holos). It's a bit sheer so I required 3 coats for opacity but it's utterly worth it! I decided to go tribal for this color relying heavily on my Messy Mansion plate and several EP's from various collections below to fill in the colors.



And there we have it.  Four new gorgeous polishes from the lastest Elevation Polish collection.  This month also featured a limited edition polish called The Twinkle in Yeti's Eyes,  a teal crelly with copper to green shifting shimmer, that will also be available at the restock.  I know every month I say go and get these polishes.  Other than the fact that these are insanely beautiful  I have been supporting and purchasing Lulu's brand from nearly its inception.  That's why I have so many of her polishes, but more importantly I like the spirit of this brand.  She's an adventuress at heart and a humanitarian.  She truly cares for her customers and believes in selling a high quality product.  You might not know it but every month I attempt to get my hands on her OOKs (one of a kinds) lol I'm always unsuccessful, but I can never stop trying.  I'm ordering backups of several of these polishes because lord knows they are stunning and I highly suggest you do the same!  Elevation Polish will be restocking at 10AM EST on the 22nd of March on Big Cartel.  Thanks so much for reading and I will see you next post!

These polishes were provided to me for review of my honest opinion. For more information please see the Disclosures tab.

Hot Off The Stamping Press: MoYou London Festive Collection Easter Expansion!

Hiya lacqueristas,

First Happy International Happy Day, Spring Equinox, and National Macaroon Day! I have yet another delicious release of nail art stamping plates to share with you from our hardworking peeps over at MoYou London.  This time they are releasing six new plates around the upcoming Easter holiday from the Festive Collection.  If you recall the Festive Collection thus far has covered the Christmas, Thanksgiving, and New Years holidays so far.  I suspect that even if you aren't a fan of the holiday or don't celebrate it for religious purposes you will find several of these plates worth having.  So let's take a look at what they have come up with this time...

I see a little bunny has joined the line-up at the Festive table ;)

MoYou has done this a lot lately; creating small plate filled with characterizations of whatever the theme is of the plate.  This time for me it's working well.  My eyes are especially drawn to the stylized scribbled carrot, the basket, and the bow topped easter egg.  This plate is absolutely adorable and spot on!

Even more stylized images, the flowers are kinda blah, but I love the squiggidy bunny squealing on the right, and the bells and other elements here. 

Has there ever been a XL infinity plate I haven't liked from MoYou?  I think the answer is no.  I love this plate!  Check the unique basketweave elements and tree that is growing eggs. Plus bunnies everywhere.  I will say though the patterns here are attainable on several other plates.  I can think of at least 4 that I've seen elsewhere on Bunny Nails plates, Vivid Laquer plates, Cici & Sisi plates, Bundle Monster, and Winstonia plates.  So if you are looking to avoid dupes this may be a case where despite the plate being extremely original the individual elements are not...

Favorite plate of the bunch!  The banners are weak - sorry but you could create all of these using scotch tape and pre-existing images that you already have.  ,But what I love here - the calico bunnies, the stylized abstract egg, the basket, wheat, the bunny from Beatrix Potter unless I miss my mark, and the piled up eggs.  Great job Moyou....

Easter tribal! Nothing here to say except yes!



More tribal! I am mad because this plate has images that are not on the XL version therefore I must have it as well.  Particularly because of that Faberge looking egg in the corner and the smaller Happy Easter stamp.

So despite my words of critism  regarding some elements of these plates I think as a whole this expansion is brilliant.  I have to point out similarities when I see them because not everyone wants a dupe.  Also if you own 1,000 plates you want plate 1001 to be worth the dollars you are shelling out to get it especially with consideration to international shipping.  I think these are worth it especially if you don't own any Easter themed plates (this is clearly not me as I own lots).  Despite my own tendency toward plate hoarding I see enough individuality here to also want to purchase several of these plates if not all of them.  Plates as usual will be releasing Friday morning and retail for 4.99 Euro.  You can purchase plates from the MoYou London website here.  Thanks for reading and see you next post...

Roses & Love Letters Nail Art feat MoYou London & Bubblelina Hot Suga

Lacquer ladies,

Today's mani is very sweet and springy even though the weather outside is anything but...  I wanted to create something that was somewhat romantic for the spring and that worked well with the polish I used as a base - Bubblelina Hot Suga.  Hot Suga is a thermal pale whiteish pink polish when warm that shifts to a pale blushing pink when at 72 degreees or so.  This polish is delicate and packed with holographic glass-like flecks and shimmer.  And as an extra bonus it smells like sweet vanilla frosting!

For the nail art I wanted something that would reflect the delicacy of the polish so I turned to my trusty MoYou London Pro plates to create a lighthearted feel.  I also chose to do gradient stamping for the letters and patterns that I wanted to contrast with the thermal change. However I had an insanely hard time getting this polish to shift unfortunately.   This is the first time I've encountered a polish that shifts when cold and even under cold water it was difficult to see the change until I placed the bottle directly under the spout.   It is also extremely sheer and required  4 coats to reach the opacity pictured here.

This is the shifted version as you can it's incredibly subtle.

So overall I'm pleased with the simplicity of this mani and I could not stop sniffing my fingers they smelt so amazing even under topcoat!  I probably wouldn't recommend Hot Suga for anyone that couldn't stand having their fingers cold, but it is a beautiful polish even without the thermal aspects.  In any case I hope you liked this mani!  Thanks for reading and see you next post!

St. Paddy's Day Nail Art #3: Celtic Knots & Clovers

Hey lacquer ladies,

This is my final adaptation of the prior mani for my St. Paddy's Day nail art.  I have a lingering love affair with Liquid Sky Lacquer Pure Luxury.  I've known for a long time whenever I think about anything gold thoughts of this polish or Orly Rage are never far behind.  So of course when I was contemplating the lusciousness of the gold holo accents in my LSL I See Rainbows I thought wouldn't this mani look so much better with a holo gold accent and here we are...

Mani-louge 

Base coat / Top coat: Nail Pattern Boldness Glitter-A-Peel & Sally Hansen Diamond Flash

Base colors: Liquid Sky Lacquer Head To The Rainbow & Pure Luxury

Stamping polish: Mundo de Unas #2 

Stamping plate: Messy Mansion MM04

This mani is rich! Literally everything is sparkling.  I lost the clover accent on my index finger and traded it for Celtic knots and and more Head To The Rainbow.  I used the same polish to create the stylized clover accent over Pure Luxury that you see again using the decal method.  This is one of those times when everything came together perfectly, and the result was so sparkly I could not stop staring!

So this is the last of my St Paddy's day manis - what do you think?  I think I saved the best for last.  I have to admit in an literal sea of linear holos (I mean they are EVERYWHERE) I am still very loyal to Liquid Sky Lacquer.  These holos are amazing and very cherished in my collection as well as her glitter bombs like Head To The Rainbow.  And of course this mani would not have been half as amazing without my Messy Mansion plate.  Honestly, I really love what Julia creates and it makes it very easy for me to bring my nail art to life!

St Paddy's Day Nail Art #2: Glistening Clovers & Rainbows

Hey lacqueristas,

You are going to see several posts from me today with my St. Paddy's Day nail art.  Honestly, I wasn't sure if I'd be able to create more than one and then I decided ok I at least have to use some of my Liquid Sky Lacquer St. Patty's Day Collection.  So at least one more mani.  This of course led to me thinking, wow I really like how portions of this mani turned out I wonder if I did this...so now here we are 3 mani's later...

Mani-louge 

Base coat / Top coat: Nail Pattern Boldness Glitter-A-Peel & Sally Hansen Diamond Flash

Base colors: Essie Marshmellow (index) & Liquid Sky Lacquer Head To TheRainbow

Watermarble: Multiple colors

Accents: Love Angeline Stuck on Love Clover Vinyls

Stamping polish: Mundo de Unas #2 

Stamping plate: Messy Mansion MM04

It's been so long since I've done a watermarble.  I realize my skills atrophied and I'm not terribly thrilled about how the colors ended up blending together, but the design is exactly how I visualized it with the marble streaming down into one corner.  What I'm thrilled about with this mani aside from the LSL polish is how well the clovers turned out.  Once again I'm relying heavily on advanced stamping and used the decal method to create them with my Messy Mansion plate.  They turned out beautifully!

I used Love Angeline Stuck On Love nail vinyls (huge mouthful) to layer in between Essie Marshmellow.  I bought the clovers specifically for this purpose and I was pretty happy over how this accent turned out.  So what do you think? Lots going on her today.  Honestly I am not entirely pleased with how this turned out.  Of the 3 nail art designs I created for the holiday this is probably my least favorite.  Which is why I decided to change up the mani a bit more.  In any case thanks for reading and I'll see you next post...

St. Paddy's Day Nail Art #1: Sally Hansen InstaDri Chevrons & Shamrocks

Top o' the morning to you lacqueristas,

Somehow the upcoming St. Paddy's Day nail art snuck up on me.  Honestly, I haven't been thinking tons about it as a major holiday for nail art.  Lol I will be at work and people will be drunk and like New Years Eve in my line of work it will make for the stuff of disaster.   I will also say while I enjoy good microbrew here and there nothing is more disturbing than green colored beer and Shamrocks shakes lol.  Anyhoo, I was able to pick up a few of the new Sally Hansen InstaDri polishes and while I normally use these for stamping I was too pleased with the colorways to not use them as the main basis for my nail art.

I-rush Luck is a true kelly green jelly finish polish.  It self-levels and was opaque in about 2 coats.  I used this for the base of the accent nail and gradients using Jade Jump.  Jade Jump is a creme mint green polish.  The formula on this one wasn't nearly as nice as IL being on the thick end of things.  I think if I were to use this one again for a base I would have to thin out the polish quite a bit.  Using these polishes for the bases made me realize something...I hate the brushes in these bottles immensely!  I have hated them for years.  The wide brush only works for me when I'm stamping because it covers the image nicely.  Otherwise when painting your nails it floods the cuticles and sides of your nails.  I don't have this problem with any other Sally Hansen polishes.  Please someone in the heavens hear me and fix this issue! Ok rant over...

I used Nail Vinyls to create the chevrons over the gradient with Confetti Wedding White and finally the gold 4 leaf clover was stamped using Essie No Place Like Chrome and Bunny Nails HD-B plate.  This nail art is extremely simple and I love it because of that.  Even the stamping is subtle.  What do you think?  It's not a very in your face design and I kinda like that.  Thanks for reading and I'll see you next post!

Plates I Love!: VIvid Lacquer Interview

Stamparellas,

Do you remember when I first posted about Vivid Lacquer plates?  It feels like it was eons ago.  In actuality it was 2 summers ago, and I was so excited I posted a video on my Youtube channel.  I wanted these plates so desperately and today very little has changed.  Except the brand has gotten bigger, Anni if anything has gotten sweeter, and her plates well...they are more innovative and fabulous than ever!  When I first created my Plates I Love! feature I knew beyond a doubt that Vivid Lacquer plates would have to be included in the line up and so here we are today.  My second feature and another awesome interview featuring a fabulous brand!  So let's get started with the interview...

When did you become interested in nail art and what led you to stamping nail art in particular?

I first started playing with nail polish in July of 2011. For the first time in my life I had successfully stopped biting my nails, and from there it was a quick jump into nail art.  For stamping in particular - I found that I just wasn't great at traditional nail art. I'm much better at graphic design and sketching. So, I began looking into stamping. I fell in love with a leopard print design and managed my first real nail art that way, and I was an instant addict.

How did you decide to launch your own brand of stamping plates? 

At the time I started stamping, very few options were available for stamping plates and stamping polish. I surmised that I might be able to use vector art, which I was experienced with, to create my own. With the support of a lot of friends I decided to take the leap and see what happened!

Pause: Vector art or graphics  are based on  paths or strokes which lead through locations called control points. Each of these points has a definite position on the x and y axes of the work plane. Each point includes the location and direction of that point in space and can be assigned a color, a shape, a thickness and also a fill.  You can read more about vectors here.

When you are creating your plates what inspires you? 

I get a lot of suggestions from customers, and sometimes I will make an entire plate theme based off of that idea. Other times I see neat patterns in real life or in photographs and wonder what kind of a stamp I could make with them - ideas are everywhere! I also have a lot of fun sketching random things to see what I come up with.

Are you creating for your fans, yourself, or for someone else in particular? 

I create primarily for my fans, but also for myself. I really enjoy seeing manicures done using my plates, particularly when the artist says that the mani has helped to cheer them up or that they particularly enjoy the process. I love that something as simple as nail art can have such a large effect on people, and it's a joy to share that with my customers.

What big plans or crazy ideas do you have for the future? 

I frequently say that I wish there were more hours in the day - I feel like I have more ideas than I have time. I'm planning more ambitious stamps, more stamping polish, and expanding the Vivid Lacquer line into more accessories.

Whats YOUR favorite brand/creator of nail art plates? 

It's so hard to choose! I have a wide range in my stash - I really go for unusual, flexible designs. There's so many talented creators out there now that it's easy to find new pieces for my collection.

If you could change one thing about the nail art scene what would it be? 

I'd like to remove the negativity. My favorite part of the nail polish / nail art world is the camaraderie that can occur, and the simple pleasure of sharing a slightly unusual hobby with like-minded people. I think that happiness is sometimes lost or forgotten.

Anything else you want to share with your fans?

 I sincerely thank every one of you for your support over the last 18 months.

The 411

Purchase Vivid Lacquer plates and polishes here

Stalk her on Facebook here  

Take a peek into her world on Instagram here

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Ugh are you as sad as I am that this interview is over?  Isn't Anni such a cool character?  Yeah I know I spend most of these interviews fangirling, but it's my blog and I'll fangirl if I want too.  So when I initially asked for Anni to do this interview I thought to myself I can't wait to see what the Vivid Lacquer brand comes up with next!  Of course I was watching eagerly, and so it thrilled me when I found out that she was releasing a entire new set of plates today at 7PM PST that's 10PM EST.  You can read my original post to take a look at all the new plates that will be releasing here.

There are two more plates in the bundle that will be releasing today. Here's the second to the last one scheduled for release. 

A gorgeous plate of lace, corsets, and keys!  The last plate preview will release shortly before the pre-sale so stalk along with me.  Set your phasers to stun and happy stamping my friends! Thanks so much for reading and I'll see you next post...

Plates I Love!: Vivid Lacquer Nail Art Edition

Hey Stamp-a-rellas,

It's that time again when I go into full gush mode regarding a brand of stamping plates that I just cannot fathom living without!  That's right it's another edition of Plates I Love! You can check out my first post featuring Messy Mansion here.  Today it's all about Vivid Lacquer nail art and tomorrow I'll have my exclusive interview with the lady herself!  In all honesty Vivid Lacquer was the first indie brand plate maker I bought from stateside.  The creator, Anni and I, go back to when she was just getting her company off the ground and I was obsessing over the Vivid Lacquer kitty that is the logo for her brand.  Her plates make me smile.  They are utterly original, huge, and of the highest quality etching.  Anni takes her work seriously and likes to see her customers satisfied and happy.  Initially, she started out only making plates with polishes not much further behind, but it has always always been her plates that made me salivate, stalk, and shamelessly shell out funds to get my nail art version of a drug fix ;)

Currently the brand has released about 20+ plates, and recently began selling square stampers which are taking the stamping world by storm.  In fact, once again hers were the first I purchased.  Stamping addicts you already know exactly what I'm talking about.  Of course I'm gonna show you some nail art now using Vivid Lacquer plates, but if you want to see more all you have to do is click the Vivid Lacquer label on the sidebar and you will see the many mani's I have made using her plates.

Mani-louge

Basecoat/Topcoat:  CND Stickey & Sally Hansen Diamond Flash

Basecolor:  OPI My Pointe Exactly (jelly) & Pink Flamenco

Stamping Polish: Konad Special Polish in Black Gold

Stamping Plate: Vivid Lacquer VL014

This is my first time using Rica polishes and I have to say I'm impressed, but moreso by the owner.  I had a huge problem with the delivery of my package and Rica stepped up like a champ and an owner who really appreciates her customers and redelivered my package.  I owe her many many thanks for doing this for me and for valuing me as a new customer!  It truly speaks to her dedication for her brand and her products. Now onto Fae - I knew the minute I saw this polish  I had to have it! It is inspired by True Blood and is a clear base that is packed with both iridescent squares and holo large circle glitters.  In short it's perfect "jelly food".

I combined Fae in 4 coats with OPI's My Pointe Exactly a thin dove-gray jelly from the NYC Ballet Collection.  MPE is one of my favorites of this collection and I knew it was going to play nicely with Fae allowing the beautiful circular glitters to push into the foreground in flashes of light.  The accent nail using OPI was just to give the total look a final punch and keep it from drowning in uniformity.  I got so many compliments on this mani while I was out and about!  I left the accent fairly plain using the bright burst of OPI Pink Flamenco and studs from Born Pretty to do the work.

Vivid Lacquer strikes again eh?  I truly love these plates.  I haven't done nearly enough nail art with them and that's a darn shame because every time I do I realize how much I love what I'm working with!  The stranding chrysanthemums (which is what I have named them) on my nails come right from VL014 and they went a long way to preserve the delicacy of this whole mani.

So thoughts?  Do you all still like jelly sandwich manicures? No matter how many times I do them I think there are still so many ways to use them.  Last time I did this feature I put up a lot of plates from the creator as well as nail art.  I think today I'll show a selection of the plates I truly love that Anni has released thus far.

                                   

Yes VL014 was an immediate crush.  The flowers and dragonflies stole my heart!

                                  

Everything about this plate makes me happy.  You'll know if you follow me on instagram that I spent some time playing with the lotus blossoms on this plate.  I'm still not 100% satisfied with the art I created and I still have plans for the koi fish

                                     

This was the plate that started it all! My obsession with the Vivid Lacquer brand originated with that butterfly wing which was literally the first of its kind.  Of all the ones that came after none could live up to this level of epic!

 

                                 

Yaaass! I love love love this plate! As much as I wanted to be a ninja I wanted to be a pirate more.  Lol now I have the opportunity to be both ;) Look at the exquisite detailing on the waves.  Sigh...

                                  

 I'm a biochemist so you know this was going to be included.  Frankly this and the Messy Mansion plates are the best two science plates I have EVER seen. So much win!!!

                                   

 My favorite multi-print plate! Honestly these also happen to be my favorite chevrons to stamp in my entire collection!

Ok I had to stop because I realized I wanted to put up so many plates there would have been little pint to picking favorites lol.  I have to give the Halloween plate a special runner up status though because that plate makes me wish it was halloween year round.  In any case I hope you enjoyed the nail art and the Vivid Lacquer spotlight.  Stay tuned for my interview with Anni tomorrow!  And for those of your that are lagging behind on my posts or didn't see Vivid Lacquer will be releasing all new plates tomorrow.  You can click here to see them all.  Thanks for reading and see you next post!

Hot Off The Stamping Press: MoYou London Sci-Fi Collection Expansion!

Hey lacquer ladies,

You thought I was done for the day right? Like could we possibly have any more plates releasing simultaneously?  The answer is actually yes.  Lol that's right even after this post I still have another looming on the horizon.  Talk about synchronicity!  Now let's talk about the Sci Fi Collection from MoYou London.  Ok I will admit I was pretty let down when I first saw the plates that were initially released.  They were fairly cartoonish and lacking in the wham pow factor that I had come to associate with MoYou London.  You can read more about that and see the first release here.  As a huge Sci Fi geek I was undeterred however and felt like ok maybe they are just warming up and waited patiently to see what the expansion would have to offer.  So here we are today...

Again this is the mascot of the collection Lelu she's very well designed and gives a good feel for the collection overall.

So MoYou goes big right out of the gate choosing to set off the expansion with one of their infinity style image plates.  This one for me is a swing and a near miss.  First, the imagery is woven together beautifully.  MoYou are really experts of their craft, and this allows them to tell a story from one plate skillfully.  The near miss comes from the fact that once again these images are very cartoonish when what I want is the Matrix on crack mixed with Moulder, Scully, and a little John Luke Picard thrown in for good measure.  Alas! I will say it works well here though because everything is set together naturally.

Digital imagery.  Better - I'm intrigued as its as step closer to what I wanted.  I will say though I have seen this type of image before on Messy Mansion plates, Bundle Monster plates, and Winstonia plates if I'm not mistaken.  The second image from the right in the upper row is unique as is the one directly below it and in the far left lower hand corner.  Well played.  Novel enough that I'd want the plate in it's entirety to get these images. 

Don't flip out and think they are being lazy and duplicating things (lol I did that at first).  This is MoYou's way of catering to the shorter nail crowd - which is me these days.  Smaller images than the XL counterparts with a few bonuses mixed in for good measure.  Same issue though with the mix of previously seen images and novel ones.  However, this plate has more novelty than its counterpart.

The last plate is the best in my opinion moving closer to what I had envisioned when this collection first released.  On a whole this is very I, Robot.  And since I adored Will Smith, his dripping muscles, and his robot friend Sunny it's a win for me.   Specifically the images in the middle of the plate are killer! 

So here I am sort of borderline with a MoYou release. What do you guys think?  I like all of these plates better than the ones that initially released for this collection.  I like them enough that I'd get all of them, but I still want to see this collection explode off the plates.  If you think about the Greek Mythology Collection you'll get a feel for what I mean.  Every plate in that collection is a winner and intriguing.  These are sort of getting there.  I will say I'm enamored enough to keep watching, but perhaps it's time to lower my expectations.  So as usual these plates retail for 4.99 Euro per plate and will be available on the MoYou London website tomorrow morning.  Thanks for reading and I'll see you next post!